*Episode 3 (Romania): There was an intense cab race between Amanda + Kris and Mom + me in Romania on the way to the gym. It was just so intense. Our cab driver drove on subway track!! Couple times there was a train coming up so our cab driver would just got off the track right before the train could hit us! Our cab driver was trying to beat Kris and Amanda's cab, haha. But at same time, we were scared to death. The roads were so disorgainzed, people were driving like nuts!

We all were sitting in McDonald's at like 5am in the morning waiting to board on train at like 6am. One of our camera crew shouted that Obama won the election. Entire people in McDonald's just cheered and clapped. It was a cool moment.*

Ah, so you were in Romania when Obama won the election, Luke! That must have been a cool moment for all of you!

*Episode 3 (Romania): There was an intense cab race between Amanda + Kris and Mom + me in Romania on the way to the gym. It was just so intense. Our cab driver drove on subway track!! Couple times there was a train coming up so our cab driver would just got off the track right before the train could hit us! Our cab driver was trying to beat Kris and Amanda's cab, haha. But at same time, we were scared to death. The roads were so disorgainzed, people were driving like nuts!

We all were sitting in McDonald's at like 5am in the morning waiting to board on train at like 6am. One of our camera crew shouted that Obama won the election. Entire people in McDonald's just cheered and clapped. It was a cool moment.*

Ah, so you were in Romania when Obama won the election, Luke! That must have been a cool moment for all of you!

Belle Book

P.S. I voted for Obama in the election, so I was thrilled when he won!

*Episode 3 (Romania): There was an intense cab race between Amanda + Kris and Mom + me in Romania on the way to the gym. It was just so intense. Our cab driver drove on subway track!! Couple times there was a train coming up so our cab driver would just got off the track right before the train could hit us! Our cab driver was trying to beat Kris and Amanda's cab, haha. But at same time, we were scared to death. The roads were so disorgainzed, people were driving like nuts!

We all were sitting in McDonald's at like 5am in the morning waiting to board on train at like 6am. One of our camera crew shouted that Obama won the election. Entire people in McDonald's just cheered and clapped. It was a cool moment.*

Ah, so you were in Romania when Obama won the election, Luke! That must have been a cool moment for all of you!

Belle Book

P.S. I voted for Obama in the election, so I was thrilled when he won!

Margie Adams always believed that her hearing-impaired son could go on The Amazing Race (TAR), the world’s most popular reality show. It was just a matter of time – and it came during the recent TAR Season 14 where Margie and Luke finished third in the mad dash across nine countries and three continents.

“He is really a big fan of The Amazing Race since Season 1 and he always wanted to go on the show ever since he was a teenager,” the 50-year old mother tells Manila Bulletin in an exclusive interview.Luke’s condition was not at all a factor and Marge knew very well what her son is capable of doing – and that is a lot!

“The only thing that we had to figure out was the communication when we were driving the car,” she shares.

For Luke, the original goal was make it to the Final Three. Margie would have been contented in not being the first team to get the boot.

Margie may seem fragile but she admits that she could be “controlling and competitive” at times. But these very qualities are probably some of the reasons why she was able to overcome the difficulties of having a child with a disability. After the race, Margie is now back to her old job as a clinical research associate.

Luke, on the other hand, just got a job in upstate New York where he will get to work with college students. His main goal in joining the race was to be a role-model for deaf people everywhere while proving that the “deaf can do just about anything and to never think otherwise.”

The Amazing Race season 14 was aired on Studio 23, which will also air the next season. On this exclusive feature on Students and Campuses Bulletin (SCB), the mother and son tandem from Denver, Colorado share their passion as advocates for deaf people, their experiences in coping with a disability, and how The Amazing Race has changed their lives forever.

LEARNING WITH HER CHILD

SCB: What exactly was the doctor’s diagnosis on Luke? What was the cause of his hearing impairment?

Margie: Luke was diagnosed with a severe hearing loss on his first birthday. He was born with a bilateral ear infection. He also had surgery to put tubes in his ears to help them drain. He did pretty well with the hearing aids and started attending a pre-school for hearing- impaired children but when he was 2 1/2 years old, he had meningitis and lost the little residual hearing he had, He was then diagnosed with profound/total hearing loss.

SCB: How did you feel when you heard about this?

Margie: I knew Luke could not hear from birth. He never looked around when there was a loud noise or looked for me when he heard my voice. Luke has an older sister and so I knew his reaction to sound was different from her reaction to sound as a baby. I went for almost a year telling Luke’s doctor that I thought he could not hear so when we finally had a diagnosis and could take some action I was actually relieved.

SCB: What difficulties did you go through as a mom?

Margie: The hardest thing was to hear other people make fun of him and call him stupid because of how he sounded. I really tried to educate people that just because Luke does not sound or communicate the same way hearing people do, he was stupid because he is not.

SCB: What’s the biggest adjustment that you had to go through?

Margie: Learning sign language and be more patient. When I communicate with sign I have to stop what ever I am doing to sign, I did not have to do that when communicating with my daughter.

SCB: How did you learn sign language?

Margie: I started Luke in a pre-school program when he was just a little older than I and I learned sign right along with him. I also took classes but I learned Signing Exact English (SEE) and later found out that the majority of deaf people communicate with American Sign Language (ASL) so I had to then learn ASL. I actually sign a mix of ASL and SEE with Luke.

SCB: Did Luke try hearing aids or other treatment options so he could hear?

Margie: Luke had hearing aids from one to five years old and then he got a Cochlear implant that allowed him to hear environmental sounds but not really speech. He went to speech therapy at least two days a week until he was 14.

SCB: Did you encounter difficulties in looking for a school for him? How was the set up like?

Margie: Luke’s father was in the army so we moved around a lot when Luke was growing up. Mainstream was always difficult. Luke did well academically but there were always so few deaf kids at his school that he sometimes felt isolated. He went to deaf school in Hawaii when he was eight and did 2 1/2 years there and did great. Then back to mainstream for two years and in 7th grade, he went to Colorado School For the Deaf and Blind and finished High School there.

SCB: What’s the best thing about having a deaf child that many people do not realize?

Margie: Having a deaf child exposed me to a whole new culture and gave me the opportunity to meet some fantastic deaf people that I would have probably not met.

SCB: What advice can you can give to parents who have kids with disabilities?

Margie: Talk to other parents with children that have similar disabilities, see what resources are out there, advocate for you child to get them the best help/education that is available. Allow your child to have language as early as possible, whether it is signing or oral communication, it is so important to communicate with your child.

SCB: What was the reaction of the other teams when they learned that Luke was deaf?

Margie: It was a mixed of reactions. Some teams were excited to have a deaf person on the race. Some teams initially thought that we would be a weak team and eliminated early because of Luke’s deafness. Some teams felt awkward to be around Luke because they were not sure how to communicate with him.”

GLAD TO BE DEAF

SCB: How hard was it growing up knowing that you were different?

Luke: It wasn’t really that hard. I actually like the idea of being different. I love being deaf. Sign language is just so such beautiful and I love every aspect of deaf culture. I’m glad that I’m deaf!

SCB: What were the problems that you encountered especially when you were in school?

Luke: The kids sometime would just bully me because I am just different from them. Just need to teach kids how to treat me like I am normal, not different from others.

SCB: What made you decide to go to college? What was your course and why did you choose to take it?

Luke: I wanted to get a college degree like everyone else. I studied in Criminal Justice, I want to fight for the rights for deaf people. You will be so surprised with how many limited rights there are for deaf people.

SCB: What was your very first ambition?

Luke: To be a honor roll student in school when I was a little kid and I did it!

SCB: What’s the hardest part of being deaf aside from not being to hear?

Luke: A lot of limited job opportunities which a lot of jobs required to be able to hear, so it’s a little hard to overcome that obstacle in job field.

SCB: Any advice to people, especially to kids, who have disabilities?

Luke: Don’t let anybody stop you just only because of your disability. Push yourself forward. Achieve your goals no matter what people say.

SCB: How do you think your participation in TAR changed the public’s perception on people with disabilities in general?

Luke: We hope that people understand deaf culture much better. There is a big misconception that almost every deaf person could talk and read lips really well. But, in our case, that isn’t true. There are actually a lot of deaf people who could not read lips or talk well, like Luke does.

"I can't speak for production, but I really like that people see us when we're traveling around the world. If you're a fan of the show, ... you're going to be more excited because you want to see what happens." --Phil Keoghan

Margie Adams always believed that her hearing-impaired son could go on The Amazing Race (TAR), the world’s most popular reality show. It was just a matter of time – and it came during the recent TAR Season 14 where Margie and Luke finished third in the mad dash across nine countries and three continents.

“He is really a big fan of The Amazing Race since Season 1 and he always wanted to go on the show ever since he was a teenager,” the 50-year old mother tells Manila Bulletin in an exclusive interview.Luke’s condition was not at all a factor and Marge knew very well what her son is capable of doing – and that is a lot!

“The only thing that we had to figure out was the communication when we were driving the car,” she shares.

For Luke, the original goal was make it to the Final Three. Margie would have been contented in not being the first team to get the boot.

Margie may seem fragile but she admits that she could be “controlling and competitive” at times. But these very qualities are probably some of the reasons why she was able to overcome the difficulties of having a child with a disability. After the race, Margie is now back to her old job as a clinical research associate.

Luke, on the other hand, just got a job in upstate New York where he will get to work with college students. His main goal in joining the race was to be a role-model for deaf people everywhere while proving that the “deaf can do just about anything and to never think otherwise.”

The Amazing Race season 14 was aired on Studio 23, which will also air the next season. On this exclusive feature on Students and Campuses Bulletin (SCB), the mother and son tandem from Denver, Colorado share their passion as advocates for deaf people, their experiences in coping with a disability, and how The Amazing Race has changed their lives forever.

LEARNING WITH HER CHILD

SCB: What exactly was the doctor’s diagnosis on Luke? What was the cause of his hearing impairment?

Margie: Luke was diagnosed with a severe hearing loss on his first birthday. He was born with a bilateral ear infection. He also had surgery to put tubes in his ears to help them drain. He did pretty well with the hearing aids and started attending a pre-school for hearing- impaired children but when he was 2 1/2 years old, he had meningitis and lost the little residual hearing he had, He was then diagnosed with profound/total hearing loss.

SCB: How did you feel when you heard about this?

Margie: I knew Luke could not hear from birth. He never looked around when there was a loud noise or looked for me when he heard my voice. Luke has an older sister and so I knew his reaction to sound was different from her reaction to sound as a baby. I went for almost a year telling Luke’s doctor that I thought he could not hear so when we finally had a diagnosis and could take some action I was actually relieved.

SCB: What difficulties did you go through as a mom?

Margie: The hardest thing was to hear other people make fun of him and call him stupid because of how he sounded. I really tried to educate people that just because Luke does not sound or communicate the same way hearing people do, he was stupid because he is not.

SCB: What’s the biggest adjustment that you had to go through?

Margie: Learning sign language and be more patient. When I communicate with sign I have to stop what ever I am doing to sign, I did not have to do that when communicating with my daughter.

SCB: How did you learn sign language?

Margie: I started Luke in a pre-school program when he was just a little older than I and I learned sign right along with him. I also took classes but I learned Signing Exact English (SEE) and later found out that the majority of deaf people communicate with American Sign Language (ASL) so I had to then learn ASL. I actually sign a mix of ASL and SEE with Luke.

SCB: Did Luke try hearing aids or other treatment options so he could hear?

Margie: Luke had hearing aids from one to five years old and then he got a Cochlear implant that allowed him to hear environmental sounds but not really speech. He went to speech therapy at least two days a week until he was 14.

SCB: Did you encounter difficulties in looking for a school for him? How was the set up like?

Margie: Luke’s father was in the army so we moved around a lot when Luke was growing up. Mainstream was always difficult. Luke did well academically but there were always so few deaf kids at his school that he sometimes felt isolated. He went to deaf school in Hawaii when he was eight and did 2 1/2 years there and did great. Then back to mainstream for two years and in 7th grade, he went to Colorado School For the Deaf and Blind and finished High School there.

SCB: What’s the best thing about having a deaf child that many people do not realize?

Margie: Having a deaf child exposed me to a whole new culture and gave me the opportunity to meet some fantastic deaf people that I would have probably not met.

SCB: What advice can you can give to parents who have kids with disabilities?

Margie: Talk to other parents with children that have similar disabilities, see what resources are out there, advocate for you child to get them the best help/education that is available. Allow your child to have language as early as possible, whether it is signing or oral communication, it is so important to communicate with your child.

SCB: What was the reaction of the other teams when they learned that Luke was deaf?

Margie: It was a mixed of reactions. Some teams were excited to have a deaf person on the race. Some teams initially thought that we would be a weak team and eliminated early because of Luke’s deafness. Some teams felt awkward to be around Luke because they were not sure how to communicate with him.”

GLAD TO BE DEAF

SCB: How hard was it growing up knowing that you were different?

Luke: It wasn’t really that hard. I actually like the idea of being different. I love being deaf. Sign language is just so such beautiful and I love every aspect of deaf culture. I’m glad that I’m deaf!

SCB: What were the problems that you encountered especially when you were in school?

Luke: The kids sometime would just bully me because I am just different from them. Just need to teach kids how to treat me like I am normal, not different from others.

SCB: What made you decide to go to college? What was your course and why did you choose to take it?

Luke: I wanted to get a college degree like everyone else. I studied in Criminal Justice, I want to fight for the rights for deaf people. You will be so surprised with how many limited rights there are for deaf people.

SCB: What was your very first ambition?

Luke: To be a honor roll student in school when I was a little kid and I did it!

SCB: What’s the hardest part of being deaf aside from not being to hear?

Luke: A lot of limited job opportunities which a lot of jobs required to be able to hear, so it’s a little hard to overcome that obstacle in job field.

SCB: Any advice to people, especially to kids, who have disabilities?

Luke: Don’t let anybody stop you just only because of your disability. Push yourself forward. Achieve your goals no matter what people say.

SCB: How do you think your participation in TAR changed the public’s perception on people with disabilities in general?

Luke: We hope that people understand deaf culture much better. There is a big misconception that almost every deaf person could talk and read lips really well. But, in our case, that isn’t true. There are actually a lot of deaf people who could not read lips or talk well, like Luke does.

I don't think I ever thought Luke couldn't do anything because he was deaf. I saw Heather Whitestone become Miss America despite being profoundly deaf, so I knew that deaf people could do a lot. I'm glad Margie & Luke made it to the Final 3.

So Luke couldn't hear from birth due to an infection? That's unfortunate. I'm glad that he's done so well with his life now.

I don't think I ever thought Luke couldn't do anything because he was deaf. I saw Heather Whitestone become Miss America despite being profoundly deaf, so I knew that deaf people could do a lot. I'm glad Margie & Luke made it to the Final 3.

So Luke couldn't hear from birth due to an infection? That's unfortunate. I'm glad that he's done so well with his life now.

Belle Book

I have to give it up for Luke (TAR14) because he did not let his disability hinder him in the race. I'm glad that he got as far as he did and I wish him the best.

"I can't speak for production, but I really like that people see us when we're traveling around the world. If you're a fan of the show, ... you're going to be more excited because you want to see what happens." --Phil Keoghan

I'd like you to meet RealityFreakWill or "Will" he is not a fan of The Amazing Race but thanks to you he did watch your season because you have things in common such as he is deaf as well and also a heck of a guy

I'd like you to meet RealityFreakWill or "Will" he is not a fan of The Amazing Race but thanks to you he did watch your season because you have things in common such as he is deaf as well and also a heck of a guy

Puddin, he already knows. I sent him a PM a month ago I think or a few weeks ago introducing myself to him and he responded with a very nice message back to me. He told me he is a fan of BB and may pop in here on the BB threads.

I'd like you to meet RealityFreakWill or "Will" he is not a fan of The Amazing Race but thanks to you he did watch your season because you have things in common such as he is deaf as well and also a heck of a guy

Puddin, he already knows. I sent him a PM a month ago I think or a few weeks ago introducing myself to him and he responded with a very nice message back to me. He told me he is a fan of BB and may pop in here on the BB threads.

Will and I have spoken to each other couple times. It's nice to see there's a deaf poster on RFF! I just want to write a quick hi as my mom and I are getting ready for Cara's big night!! Jaime, Mike, and Victor are here as well (Tammy, you are dearly missed!) They're doing really great!

Will and I have spoken to each other couple times. It's nice to see there's a deaf poster on RFF! I just want to write a quick hi as my mom and I are getting ready for Cara's big night!! Jaime, Mike, and Victor are here as well (Tammy, you are dearly missed!) They're doing really great!

Thank you, Luke!

Hope you hang out with us during BB11 as you told me you are a big fan of BB. We would love your imput of the houseguests.....ya know, love 'em or hate 'em! LOL

thanks guys! This is such a cute little forum you guys have going. I feel like such a fanboy signing up just for this thread

I just think the communication and dynamics between margie and Luke is amazing. Margie seems like such a great mum. They have such a great bond. I got all teary after the first leg when Luke was saying that he was doing it to prove that the deaf community can achieve just about anything. Luke is just so adorable and so so sweet. He has raised my standards for my future boyfriend

Hey guys!! Hope all are well with you guys! I see that you guys are having fun trying to spoil new race!

I just saw Neobie's question: Luke, I'm interested too in what happened after the faux-Pit Stop in Beijing! You guys disappeared for six, seven hours there? What're you up to nowadays? Back to school?

Good catch! We didn't search for a gnome right away. We had to stay in some little restaurant place to sleep for few hours. We were told that we had to get up before the dawn breaks so we only slept for like 4 hours? It was SO cold inside! There were no windows at all! Way to suffer! One thing that I was little pissed that we all (teams) were released at same time to look for gnomes. No order at all. That's why Jaime + Cara, Tammy + Victor, and my mom + I were all fired up about Jen and Kisha caught a big break that the leg was TBC and didn't get eliminated for being in last place after swim challenge. We all agreed that whoever gets to U-Turn will u-turn Jen and Kisha right away in order to eliminate them. That's the reason that I was so intense while doing make-up detour task is that I knew there was U-Turn coming up and I knew that Jen and Kisha were going to u-turn my mom and me if nobody else gets there before them - I tried to hurry up and screwed up so bad on the makeup application, haha. I was so relieved when we found U-Turn. We wandered around for two hours then it took Jaime + Cara and Jen + Kisha four hours to find it. I loved how Jaime and Cara went like, "Margie and Luke went down that street and they never came back. I wonder what happened to them." That was hilarious of how we disappeared mysteriously.

Anyway, Im just enjoying the ride and traveling around for a little bit then hopefully going on one of trips that my mom and I won on the show this fall!!

Hey guys!! Hope all are well with you guys! I see that you guys are having fun trying to spoil new race!

I just saw Neobie's question: Luke, I'm interested too in what happened after the faux-Pit Stop in Beijing! You guys disappeared for six, seven hours there? What're you up to nowadays? Back to school?

Good catch! We didn't search for a gnome right away. We had to stay in some little restaurant place to sleep for few hours. We were told that we had to get up before the dawn breaks so we only slept for like 4 hours? It was SO cold inside! There were no windows at all! Way to suffer! One thing that I was little pissed that we all (teams) were released at same time to look for gnomes. No order at all. That's why Jaime + Cara, Tammy + Victor, and my mom + I were all fired up about Jen and Kisha caught a big break that the leg was TBC and didn't get eliminated for being in last place after swim challenge. We all agreed that whoever gets to U-Turn will u-turn Jen and Kisha right away in order to eliminate them. That's the reason that I was so intense while doing make-up detour task is that I knew there was U-Turn coming up and I knew that Jen and Kisha were going to u-turn my mom and me if nobody else gets there before them - I tried to hurry up and screwed up so bad on the makeup application, haha. I was so relieved when we found U-Turn. We wandered around for two hours then it took Jaime + Cara and Jen + Kisha four hours to find it. I loved how Jaime and Cara went like, "Margie and Luke went down that street and they never came back. I wonder what happened to them." That was hilarious of how we disappeared mysteriously.

Anyway, Im just enjoying the ride and traveling around for a little bit then hopefully going on one of trips that my mom and I won on the show this fall!!

Thanks for sharing, Luke.

Although I still somewhat hate Tammy/Victor for U-Turning 'em. I actually wanted a Christie/Jodi, Kisha/Jen, Mel/Mike F3. (I liked the earlier part of the boot order though. Your use of the U-Turn was the first actual U-Turn that was...well, useful. )